A Better Life
by RandomStories26
Summary: What would life be like for Naruto if he was raised by Jiraiya. Naruto with Mokuton! Not OP and SLIGHT Sasuke and Sakura bashing in the beginning.
1. Chapter 1:Prelude

**Disclaimer:I do not own Naruto**

**Some of this fic is based off of "Senju Naruto" by baal of yarns but I will only be using about 10% of his ideas.**

**"Jutsu/Bijuu** talking"

_'Thinking'_

"Talking"

**A Better Life**

**Chapter 1:Prelude **

Minato sighed as he looked at his sensei passed out drunk on the bar. Not that he was in much better condition. Jiraiya had somehow managed to convince him that going a bar in Tanzaku town to celebrate his becoming Hokage was a good idea. It probably had something to do with the fact that the old sannin had promised to stop peeping on women in the village while he was getting settled into his position.

"Well I never expected to see you here Minato."

Minato turned around to see Tsunade who looked just as drunk as him if not more so.

"I didn't expect to see you here either Tsunade-San." Was the simple response Minato gave her.

"So, why are you here? I would have thought you would be in the village considering your recent promotion."

Minato chuckled and brought his hand to rub the back of his head. "Yeah, well Jiraiya asked me to drink some sake with him but I said I had to act as a role model. Of course once he mentioned that his peeping would stop for a while if we did go out for a drink I couldn't say no. AlthoughI still thought it would be best to come here so that no one would know that I got shit-faced"

"You got him to stop peeping? Even if it is only temporary I still think you deserve a reward for that."

"Heh heh, I don't know. It was really just so that there would be less trouble for me." _'And of course Kushina-Hime'_

"Hmmmm. Well why don't you bring Jiraiya upstairs. When we get up there I'll also give you your reward." Tsunade smirked evilly when she saw that the blonde man obviously had no idea what she meant.

After getting the toad sage in bed Minato exited the room and entered the next door over.

"So wha-" was as far as the blonde man was able to get before being tackled onto the bed by the female sannin.

"What the hell are you doing!" He yelled, more out of surprise than anything else.

"I'm giving you your gift. Come on, I know you haven't had any for a while and neither have I. This is really just getting an itch scratched."

Minato considered her words and found that he couldn't disagree. _'I don't see the harm in it, after all nobody would no anyways'_

"Alright, I don't see why not." And with that the two blondes began going at it for hours into the night.

-The Next Morning-

When everyone had woken up that morning there was now a missing space in the wall connecting Tsunade's room to Minato and Jiraiya's, courtesy of Tsunade of course.

The three agreed never to mention the event to anyone else and went their separate ways. Little did they know that even if Tsunade wasn't pregnant, there would still be consequences to their actions that night.

-1 Year Later-

The sandaime sighed as he considered everything that had happened that night. While Kushina had been giving birth Minato was surprise attacked and the assailant had managed to unseal the kyuubi from the young Hokage.

Then Minato and Kushina had to combine their efforts to seal the bijuu inside their own son. And to think that he had thought his days ruling over this village were over with.

The old man looked around the Hokage's office until his eyes settled on the crib next to him. "I'm sorry Naruto."

Then he did something that surprised him, he cried. He cried for the boy knowing that he was in for a life full of beatings, insults, and extortion. "I'm so sorry."

-4 Years later-

Jiraiya walked down the street observing the crowds around him. _'To bad I can't stay longer, I really wish I could but orders are orders. And to think that there are so many women that have yet to be spied on. -sigh-' _

When the old sannin finally reached his destination he almost turned to leave, that is, until a small blonde child ran past and accidentally knocked him off balance.

The child looked back momentarily with an apologetic look on his face until he turned away and continued into the hokage tower.

_'Little gaki not even stopping to apologize.'_ This was however the very thing that he needed. _'Well, no point in leaving I suppose.'_

With the small blonde boy still in on his mind Jiraiya walked into the building.

When the toad sage did reach the Hokage's office however he was met with the sight of the very same kid that had knocked him over threatening the Hokage with pranks that would make his eyebrows fall off if he wasn't enrolled in the academy.

"Naruto-Kun there is no need for this, I already sent your registration form to the academy, you will be allowed to start right after winter break ends."

Naruto grinned and ran over to the Hokage wrapping his arms around him. "Thank you so much jiji!"

Jiraiya examined the boy with curiosity. Naruto looked rather malnourished and was wearing a pair of shorts with a T-shirt in the middle of winter. _'Who's are this kid's parents anyway?'_

Just as the boy himself ran past him it clicked. _'That's Minato"s son!'_

"So Jiraiya-Kun, what do you have to report?"

"Hey, that was Minato and Kushina's son right? Why was he in such bad shape?"

Sarutobi suddenly frowned. "The people haven't taken to thinking of him as Minato-Kun thought they would. I have been doing my best to take care of him but the council has been doing _there _best to give him the worst life possible. The villagers have also tried to kill him multiple times and have almost succeed many."

Jiraiya thought it over a bit. "Do you think I could take him?" He asked with hope shining in his eyes.

"I'm sorry Jiraiya-Kun but that would be to dangerous, you live a difficult life."

"You said yourself that the villagers have tried to kill him before and almost succeeded, what makes you think he would be any less safe with me?"

The sandaime puffed his pipe and thought it over. "You do have a point, and with you raising him Naruto would at least have constant protection."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes Jiraiya-Kun, that is a yes. Though you are responsible for preparing Naruto to leave the village and you will also have to stop some of your bad habits."

"Don't worry old man, Naruto will be in perfectly capable hands."

**End of chapter 1**

**This chapter will be much shorter than other chapters so yeah.**

**Also, there will be a pairing in this fic even though that won't be until much later on.**

**Possible pairings:NaruTema,NaruIno,NaruTen, or Naruto/Ayame**

**This will not be a NaruHina fic. Also, after chapter 5 this fic will only be updated once a week or every other week.**


	2. Chapter 2:Raising Him

**So this update is really soon but I couldn't help it. I just wanted to keep writing. Also, I am currently looking for a beta and have contacted two people but neither have responded so if you are interested or want to refer someone PM me.**

'_**Memories'**_

'_Thoughts'_

"Talking"

**Anyway, without further adue, chapter 2:Raising Him**

Jiraiya grinned as he watched Naruto fail once again to walk up the tree. He had started giving the kid some light training a few weeks ago and they were just now starting to work on chakra control.

He had to admit, Naruto didn't give up easily. Which was good because if he did the blonde would probably never be able to become a good shinobi.

Currently the pair of them were in wave country protecting a bridge builder while he built, that's right, a bridge that connected fire country to wave country.

At first Jiraiya outright refused Sarutobi's request to come here but the old man had managed to break him down. Although this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Coming to this particular town the toad sage was able to show Naruto what things were like outside of hidden villages and large cities.

The lesson went right through to the small blonde though, after all, he was living in worse conditions up until one month ago when Jiraiya adopted him.

Naruto and Jiraiya had been connecting well over the month that they had been together. At first Naruto didn't trust the old perv but he quickly warmed up to him when he saved his life on their way to the location they were currently staying.

A pair of ninja had attacked them and while one distracted Jiraiya the other went for Naruto. He had gotten his kunai about foot away from the the child's face before a blade went through his neck.

Moving away from that topic though, Jiraiya still didn't know how to help the kid with his exercise. He had shown him how to do it and told him not to put in too much or too little chakra. Maybe he just needed to start on an easier task, like balancing a leaf on his forehead.

"Hey Naruto, take a break and come sit down for a while."

"-pant- -pant-, okay."

'_I don't get it. He already knows how to do leaf balancing, he should have been able to get this by now.'_

"What are ya' thinkin' about jiji?"

"Hmm? Oh, well I was just trying to figure out a way to make this whole process go along faster but I can't think of anything."

"Oh… You know jiji always said that to have good chakra control you have to have equivence between your phiscal and menal energy."

'_Aha! That must be it! Naruto experienced significant amounts of trauma during his childhood, all of that plus the kyuubi is likely unbalancing his mental and physical energies!' _

"You know what, I think you just gave me the solution to your problem. By the way, It's pronounced equivalence, physical, and mental."

"Oh, heh heh heh. So… What are you gonna do?"

"I'm not going to do anything, you are."

"What do you mean jiji?"

"I mean, there's something that you should know. I would have liked to avoid this until you were older but it can't be helped. Do you remember hearing how the Yondaime defeated the kyuubi and then killed it? Well, he didn't."

"What! He didn't kill the kyuubi! Then what happened!?"

"Well if you would be quiet for a second I would tell you. Are you going to be quiet now? No more interruptions?" Naruto shook his head.

"Good. Now, as I was saying the Yondaime didn't kill the kyuubi, he sealed it. However, at the time there wasn't anything that could hold the kyuubi's power without it escaping or the container dying. Except for a newborn baby. That infant was you Naruto, you are the host jinchurichi of the kyuubi."

Naruto stared at him for what seemed like an eternity. "So, what all the villages said is true. I really am a demon." Naruto looked down with a dejected expression.

"NO! You are not a demon Naruto! You're just a kid that was in the wrong place at the right time."

Naruto looked back up at the old man next to him. "Really?" This was said with teary eyes and a look of hope that nearly made Jiraiya cry.

"Yeah kid. Now, what you need to do is very dangerous. If you don't think you can handle it you could always just put off your training until you're older."

"No way! I can handle anything!"

"Good attitude! Now, you have to get into the lotus position and be as still and calm as possible while thinking about absolutely nothing. Once you do that I won't be able to talk with you so pay close attention. When you feel a sudden rushing sensation open your eyes. You should be somewhere that looks different than here."

"Okay."

"When you get there you should see a lot of doors. look for one with the letters T-R-A-U-M-A above it. Can you repeat that?"

"Yeah. T-R-A-U-M-A right?"

"Good. Okay so once you get there you'll see things that hurt you in the past, like villagers attacking you. Just remember, none of it is real, it can't hurt you okay?"

"Are you sure it can't hurt me?"

"Yes I'm sure. When you do see all that stuff you need to try and fight it back. You know that feeling you get when you want to say no or keep trying? Try and find that feeling and listen to it. Do you think you can handle all this?"

"I-I think so. If it can't hurt me then… Then I can handle it!"

"Okay, now you need to do what I told you to do first okay?"

"Okay." Naruto got into the lotus position and got as still as he could.

"Good, but try and relax." Naruto nodded his response and did as he was told.

When his body slumped Jiraiya knew he couldn't help him anymore.

-With Naruto-

Naruto groaned as he stood up. "Uhhh, that was spinny." Taking a moment to regain his senses Naruto looked around. '_This place is diffent for sure.'_

His surroundings were like those of a sewer but much larger. Naruto could see different passage ways with words above them but ignored them.

'_Jiji said the one with T-R-A-U-M-A above it was the right one.'_ So the blonde child headed off down the long tunnel looking above each and every door he saw until he found the right one.

'_T-R-A-U-M-A! This is the one!' _ Naruto approached the threshold of the passageway and stopped.

'_What's this feeling. It's like I'm scared but worse than I ever have been. I don't know if I can do this. NO! I have to do this or I'll have to wait for __years_ _until I can be a ninja!'_

So, he entered. The second Naruto crossed into the passage he was in a room, a big room with pictures that flashed with different images from his childhood.

Suddenly the small blonde felt like he had a huge headache. '_Ahhhh. Wait no!' _And then the memories came.

Being beaten, rocks thrown at him, insults, people calling him a demon and telling their kids to stay away.

'_**Don't play with him he's a demon!'**_

'_**Demon! Why don't you just kill yourself!' **_

'_**Get out of here you filthy brat!' 'Look it's Naruto! My mom said he's a bad guy so we should beat him up' **_

'_**Kill him!' **_

'_No, the beatings, demon, filthy, bad, kill. NO! I have to fight back like jiji said! NO! I AM NOT A DEMON! I AM NARUTO-_UZUMAKI!"

And suddenly, everything stopped and it was like he was in control. For a brief second it was as if he never went through the beatings, never heard the insults, was always calm and peaceful. Then everything went black.

When he woke up Naruto was lying on his sleeping bag in the room Jiraiya had rented. He sat up and looked around the room. Jiraiya was laying in his own bag next to him.

He got up and walked over to the window. It was the middle of the night. '_I must have been in there for a long time' _

He turned around and walked over to the bathroom. Luckily this was one of the nicer buildings in town so the bathroom was an actual bathroom.

As he sat on the toilet Naruto thought about everything that just happened. He didn't feel any different. Well, it was like there was a sudden weight lifted off his shoulders but other than that there wasn't a difference.

He finished up and headed over to the sink. He had to get on his tippy-toes to reach over the counter and wash his hands.

Jiraiya smiled as the kid laid back down in his sleeping bag. '_He's stronger than I thought. I expected him to be out of it until tomorrow. Plus it seems like there weren't any side effects.' _

When he heard the sound of soft snoresthe sage closed his eyes. '_He really is his father's son.'_

The next morning when the old sannin awoke he was scared shit-less. Naruto was less than an inch away from his face just staring him breathing on his face lightly. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" '_Maybe I was wrong about there being no side effects.'_

**So that's it. I kind of wanted to make this chapter longer but this just seemed like a good place to end it. Anyway if you have any questions that you would like answered put it in the review section and I will answer it. Favorite and Follow. Also I put up a poll on my profile for the pairing in this fic. If you want a pairing that's not on the poll put it in the review section. Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3:Raising Him (Again)

**Haha Chapter 3:Raising Him (again)**

**Now that Naruto and Jiraiya are in wave country don't expect Zabuza to attack, that won't be in here until team seven gets their first 'C' rank mission. Also, because the bridge is already under construction in this chapter when team seven does get the mission it will be because Gato is trying to destroy the bridge.**

Naruto grinned happily as he got to the top of the tree. Since yesterday he had been able to get up there in one try.

Going back down the tree and jumping off once he got half way down Naruto flipped like the toad sage had told him to but found himself falling to the ground face first.

Luckily, Jiraiya happened to look up from his writing before Naruto landed and was able to catch the blonde before his neck broke.

"Gaki, be more careful."

"Heh heh. Sorry, I will be now jiji."-

"Good. In any case now that you have decent chakra control you can start with your real training."

Naruto gulped.

"To start with you can do twenty push ups, thirty sit ups, three laps around the clearing, and walk up then down a tree twice. Do this three times with five minute breaks in between."

"What! But that's so much! How am I supposed to do that!?"

"Ohh? So you would rather not train and just give up on being a shinobi? Okay then. Lets-"

"No wait! I'll do it! I will jiji I will." And so he began.

For the rest of that morning Naruto went about trying to finish the training that Jiraiya had set him. After Naruto went through the routine twice Jiraiya adopted a troubled look.

"Hey kid, my clone at the bridge dispelled itself, I need to go check on some stuff. You stay here and keep going at it. When you finish do everything again okay?"

"Okay jiji!" So without saying another word Jiraiya left.

As Naruto started walking up the tree for his third time he noticed something, or more like someone on the far side of the clearing.

The blonde child walked back down the tree and went around to the other side. Again he saw a child that looked to be about his age. He walked over to the child who happened to be sitting in the grass picking flowers.

"Uhh, hey."

The child suddenly jumped and turned.

'_She's cute.'_

"Oh. Hello, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?" She asked.

"I was just doing the training my jiji told me to do when I saw you. What about you?"

"I'm finding herbs. My sensei gave me this book about different plants and stuff that can help heal wounds."

"Sensei? So you're training to be a ninja?" Naruto grinned when he said this.

"If you are that's awesome cause I am too!"

The girl smiled fondly at him. "Yes actually. What's your name; you haven't said yet."

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki the future Hokage! What's your name?"

"My name is Haku. So Naruto, what training are you doing out here?"

"Eh; not much. I just finished tree walking so now jiji is making me do a bunch of different workouts so I can get strong."

"Tree walking? Your sensei already showed you that? I only just started because my sensei said it was dangerous to do if your chakra reserves weren't high enough."

"Really? I didn't know that but I haven't gotten hurt yet and I've been doing it for a few hours now so I think I'm fine. Anyway, how old are you, Haku?"

"Six, what about you?"

"I'm four but almost five!" Haku smiled at the little blonde. '_He's so nice and gets excited over everything.'_

"Well Naruto, I would stay longer but I have to get back to sensei."

"Ok; that's fine. Bye Haku-Chan!"

'_Chan?'_ "Bye! And I'm a boy so don't call me chan!"

Naruto smiled at the retreating form of his new friend. '_Wait, WHAT! That was a boy! I thought he was cute! Huh, he sure was a pretty boy.'_

The blonde child just ignored it and continued his training.

An hour later Jiraiya showed up to get Naruto. Walking back to the town, Naruto remembered something that Haku had said.

"Hey jiji? There was this other kid in the clearing and he said that his sensei only just started him on tree walking and he's a whole year older than me! He said his sensei thought it was too dangerous for him cause his chakra resev was too small. So how could I do it for so hours?"

"Hmm, well your chakra reserves are very large. Most children your age have reserves that don't even match that of an academy student's. Your reserves are already mid to high chunin level."

"Oh. Why is my resev so big?"

"Reserve, and part of it is because you're an Uzumaki. They were known for their large chakra reserves. Plus the kyuubi amplifies your already large reserves to even higher amounts; though your chakra and the kyuubi's are separate. Beyond that the seal that keeps the demon inside of you steals small amounts of chakra from the fox, purifies it, and stores it in your own reserves. So you see, if you didn't have enough chakra to do tree walking at this point, I would be surprised."

"Wow, so how much chakra do I have exactly?"

"Actually, that is a good question. It also gives me the opportunity to test my new invention." While saying this Jiraiya grabbed a string from his pocket and showed it to Naruto.

"This won't tell you exactly how much you have but it will give you something to compare to. This string absorbs chakra that is put into it and compresses it into the smallest space possible and then places a red line at the spot where there is no more chakra."

"Cool."

"I've already put my chakra into it. See the red line? Now, once you put chakra into it your own chakra will react to mine and the string should burn a little up to the point where your chakra goes out."

"So… It's a chakra measure stick?"

"Ehh. Basically. Ok; now grip the string and put in all the chakra you can, but make sure you don't pass out."

"Okay." Doing as he was told Naruto grabbed the string and put in as much chakra as he could. The string started to burn and turn black until it stopped about halfway between the start and the red line.

"Woah, I didn't think you would have that much! You already have half the amount of chakra I do! That might not seem like much but I actually have more chakra than the Hokage, for you to have this much chakra is completely unheard of in a child your age."

"Really? That means I have a lot of chakra right? Awesome!" The little blonde then continued on about how he was sure he could become Hokage now and he would surpass all the other Hokage's.

-That Night-

Naruto and Jiraiya both snored as they slept. This was something that was currently helping the man sneaking into their room be unheard by the two. As he stepped further into the room with the snores masking his footsteps the assassin went towards the small boy and drew his blade.

Then he made a mistake.A mistake that he was gonna pay for. When he stepped next to Naruto's sleeping bag he accidentally kicked over an empty can which caused both of the snoring pair to wake.

Before anyone could stop him the intruder plunged his blade down at the blonde. One foot, eight inches, six inches, two inches, and then… Nothing.

The attackers eyes widened as he saw a piece of the floorboard _grow _to block the path of his blade.

One thump and a heartbeat later he knew his fate was sealed. His body hit the ground before his brain could even register that his neck had been twisted; with might I add, almost enough force for the head to come straight off the body.

Naruto just silently sat and stared in wide eyed horror as the man that just tried to kill him had his neck snapped.

"I-I-I don't. -pant- -huff- -pant- ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

The older man in the room sat down next to the child and embraced him. "It's okay now, he can't hurt you."

They just sat there like that for a minute. Jiraiya holding Naruto while he looked at the body in terror.

"How-why, you-you killed him! He's dead!"

"Naruto calm down. He attacked you; I had no choice. Besides, if I didn't kill him he would not have hesitated to kill you." The toad sage tried to comfort the boy, and he did seem to calm a bit.

"I-okay, but, his body." Jiraiya nodded in understanding and made a kage bunshin to dispose of the trash.

Once the bunshin left the room Naruto stood up. "I- I'm going to the bathroom."

-In The Bathroom-

Naruto jumped up onto the counter and turned on the sink. Splashing some water in his face causing the blonde to wake up, not that he wasn't already, besides that it was also refreshing.

"-pant- -pant- -huff- -pant-. He- I almost died, he almost killed me and then, then the floor grew. How did the floor grow? I don't care, it saved my life; thank you floor." He laid down on the counter looking up at the ceiling.

-With Jiraiya-

Jiraiya sighed as he heard the sink turn on. This is something that should not have happened. As he thought about what the assailants purpose could have been something caught his eye.

The sword that the man had tried to kill Naruto with was imbedded in a floorboard that had grown upwards. He didn't remember the floor being like that before.

'_Wha-how? Mokuton? No, Naruto couldn't possibly have the mokuton; could he? I don't know, I'll deal with it later.'_ And with that thought of dismissal Jiraiya got up and went to check on Naruto.

Finding him asleep on the counter Jiraiya picked him up and brought him back into the room.

The next morning Jiraiya told Naruto that they were leaving.

"Why? I like it here." Naruto whined.

"I'm starting to worry that someones after us. We've been attacked twice now and both times the main target was you. I want to try and get to Suna, they're allies of Konoha so we should be safe there. Besides that I heard that another jinchurichi lives there."

"Really? So there are other people like me?" Naruto said with a hint, okay; a dash, fine; a ton of curiosity in his voice.

"Yes, actually, including you there are nine more; and if you count it there is also a wild chakra demon that currently has no host."

"Cool! Where is it? Do you think you could beat it? What about those other eight? Are they all my age or older? Or maybe they're a baby!"

"No, excluding the one in Suna all of the jinchurichi are older than you. To answer your other question yes I do think I could beat the no tails; but he isn't the violent type though so I probably won't ever have a reason to attack him."

Naruto continued asking questions; never noticing that as he did so they were leaving the village. He still didn't notice until one of the town's people yelled goodbye to them.

"Wait-wha." '_Sneaky old man.'_

-Seven Years Later-

Naruto jumped up and grinned as Gaara's sand tried to trap him again. He threw a kunai with an exploding tag stuck to it at him. Of course the shorter boy's sand caught it and the explosion didn't even reach him. Gaara looked around his family's personal training field. Naruto had become quite adept at hiding in the sand.

Then, before Gaara's sand could block it Naruto jumped at him and gave him an uppercut. Quickly putting distance between them Gaara used his sand to grab the blondes arms. Hearing the sound of crunching sand behind him the redhead turned to see a Naruto clone about to kick him; but he used his sand to deflect the kick; only to be whipped in the face by the vine wrapped around his friend's waist.

Flipping back he sent a pair of sand shuriken at the blonde. He blocked with a kunai but the second he did the sand shuriken burst into little balls (haha) and flew at him. As the small pebbles stabbed into his face he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Gaara turned back around to see that the real Naruto had escaped while he was distracted fighting his clone. Intensively using his chakra to feel any disturbances or movements in the sand Gaara was rewarded with Naruto's thought to be secret location.

Turning the other direction to make it seem like he didn't know where Naruto was he went through some hand signs making sure that his body and gourd hid the movements.

The blonde hiding in the sand smirked as his friend looked the other way. Pulling out two exploding tags he was about to throw them when a giant wave of sand arose next to him and came crashing down before he could react.

Some time later Naruto had managed to dig his way out of the giant mound. "Nice move Gaara, I thought you completely missed me when you turned away."

"I thought it would work seeing as you usually are hidden well enough for me to not find you Naruto-Kun."

The blonde sighed at the use of an honorific. He had told Gaara multiple times that they were practically brothers so he didn't have to address him so formally. Although, kun really wasn't that formal; still.

"Gaara I already told you, it's fine to just call me by my name. We spend so much time together we're practically related!"

The red headed jinchurichi thought this over. "Okay."

Naruto smiled at him.

"Now lets go get some ramen!"

The blonde had introduced the magnificent food to Gaara the week after they met and he definitely liked it. He could almost eat as much of it as Naruto. It wasn't surprising to the other eleven year old considering how ramen was the greatest food known to man.

The pair walked into the kitchen of Gaara's home and grabbed their pre-made bowls from the counter. They had learned long ago that if the ramen was made before they trained it gave time for the broth and noodles to cool so that they wouldn't get burned by digging into it as soon as possible.

"This is a good last meal to have here; and it's with my best friend! I have to say I'll definitely miss this place." Naruto slurped up a few noodles after saying this.

"You don't have to leave."

"Not technically but jiji is an active shinobi of konoha and he wouldn't let me live here without him so it really can't be avoided." Needless to say Naruto wasn't looking forward to living in his home village again. The one time he and Jiraiya had gone back there for a week everyone gave him glares. Obviously the villagers hadn't forgotten him.

"Oh. Well, I'm going to miss you." Gaara looked sad at the thought of not being able to communicate with his only friend besides his siblings. No one his age understood him like Naruto; and even he thought the redhead was weird sometimes.

"We'll still get to see each other though. Jiji said that when I become a genin I'll be allowed to come here sometimes as long as I have an escort. Plus, the chunin exams are only half a year away; so we get to see each other then too."

"Yeah, and our villages are allies so we might even get missions together sometimes." Gaara smiled, maybe the situation was better than he thought.

Later that day (October sixth) Naruto and Jiraiya left. While traveling across the desert Naruto's outfit had changed to better suit the windy, dry, and hot conditions; even if they mostly traveled at night so the last one was really unnecessary to prepare for.

He now wore a black T-shirt with the Senju clan symbol on the back (Because it had been decided that he was somehow related to them when it was discovered he had the mokuton), grey jeans, closed toe black shinobi sandals, and a cloak that resembled the akatsuki's but without the red clouds and made for his size. The cloak itself had the Uzumaki clan symbol on the back of it, to show respect for his deceased family. He also wore the fingerless black shinobi gloves with steel plates on them.

Overall, he thought it looked pretty good.

"So how long is it gonna take us to get there?" He asked. His older companion looked down at him. "Sprinting as much as possible it will probably take us four or five days."

"Good. That means we'll get there after the festival." Naruto's face darkened considerably. Every year on October tenth there had been a festival celebrating the defeat of the kyuubi. And every year on that same day a mob of drunks decided that they would finish off the 'demon'.

This was unknown to the toad sage though as he didn't spend much time in the village and was never around when the festival happened.

"Festival? There's a festival going on? Then why is it a good thing that we're getting the-" That's when it dawned on him; the kyuubi was sealed within Naruto on the tenth. '_Wow, the kid must have never had a single good birthday in the village, even when there was a festival going on.'_

So the perverted sannin decided that Naruto was going to have a good birthday for once.

Four days later the duo approached the village gates. It was mid to late morning of the tenth. '_Damn it! The festival is going to be tonight! I thought we would get here after it was over and then I wouldn't have to deal with all the trouble.' _

The child turned his gaze on the man next to him. '_But maybe this year will be different.'_

When they reached the checkpoint the forever chunin guards stationed there seemed surprised. "Jiraiya-Sama, Naruto-Kun! We didn't expect to see you two until the graduation exams." Said Izumo.

"Yeah well I thought we should get here a month ahead of that to get Naruto here used to the village a little bit. Now hand me the form." As Kotetsu grabbed an entry form and handed it to Jiraiya he looked at Naruto.

"You look different. What happened to that orange jump suit of yours?"

"It broke when I was training. Jiji used a fire jutsu and the thing was destroyed." Both of the chunin glanced over at the sannin as Naruto said this suspecting that he hadn't ruined the suit on accident.

"So where are you guys going to live? I know Jiraiya-Sama doesn't have a place in the village and you don't have an apartment anymore." Kotetsu asked.

This time Jiraiya spoke. "We were planning on staying at the Uzumaki estate considering that he is part of the clan and nobody else is using the place."

"That makes sense." Izumo said. Once he finished filling it out Jiraiya handed over the form. They were permitted entry and he along with Naruto walked through the gate.

Noticing something on Naruto's waist as the pair walked off Izumo turned to Kotetsu and said "Was that a vine on Naruto's waist?"

-At The Hokage Tower-

Ahh hello Jiraiya-Kun, Naruto-Kun, it's good to see you!"

"Hai it is sensei."

"Good to see you old man!"

Sarutobi laughed and shook his head. "It seems raising a child has taught you some manners Jiraiya-Kun! And you have grown so much Naruto! How long has it been? Seven years?"

"Heh, yeah. So… uhhh. Jiji wanted to talk to you about my, err, I mean my, you talk to him!" Naruto fumbled around his speech not sure what to say.

"Thanks for the intro gaki." Turning to address the Hokage Jiraiya told him what Naruto was trying to say. "I wanted to talk to you about the Uzumaki estate. Since Naruto and I will be staying in the village long term and we don't have anywhere to stay, I thought it would be best if we stayed at his family home. After all, it is his right to stay there."

Hiruzen gave Jiraiya a quizzical look. "I hope you realize that the building is in need of cleaning and some light repairing. There are also certain… items that should not be seen by a specific individual."

"I do know this already but I think it is time that this specific individual should know about these 'certain items'."

The sandaime looked at Naruto. "Would you mind waiting outside my office please?" He asked.

"Sure." So Naruto left the room and the only people left were two elderly men.

"Sensei I think it is time that Naruto learns of his parents. As I told you in my report seven years ago he already knows about the kyuubi and handled it with surprising maturity when he found out. Besides that he already knows he's an Uzumaki and if you turn us down right now that will spike his curiosity, and trust me, once that boy sets his mind on something not even the village security could stop him from finding out on his own."

The older of the two considered this. "Are you sure that he won't tell anybody?"

"Absolutely. He's already figured out a way to explain his two chakra pools to others his age so this shouldn't be a problem considering that there's no evidence that he's Minato's son."

"Hmmm, very well then. Naruto! You can come in now!" When the doors opened and the blonde walked through he looked at the Hokage. "So… What's going on?"

Before Sarutobi could Jiraiya spoke. "You might want to sit down to here this." Naruto looked confused but complied nonetheless. Now it was Hiruzen that spoke. "Naruto, we know who your parents are. Actually we always have."

"WHAT! You knew my parents and never told me!"

"Yes but we had good reason. Your parents made many enemies during their time and they didn't want you to be in danger. Although now Jiraiya-Kun has convinced me that you can be told. Your mother was Kushina Uzumaki, and your father was the very same person that placed the nine tails within you. Your father was Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage."

**So Naruto found out who his parents were and it's only chapter three! I realize that characters do act differently in here than they do in canon (I don't think they're too OOC though) but I always thought that after Naruto beat some sense into Gaara he would act different. I also hate how most 'Jiraiya raises Naruto' stories give them the same relationship as in canon. If Jiraiya had actually raised Naruto he would treat him like a son and Naruto would probably treat him like a father. Yeah, anyway I finally found a beta! I'm still looking for another one though because it's smart to make sure the story is as good as possible. Note that this chapter wasn't read by a beta but chapter four will be.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four:An Unexpected Surprise**

**I was hoping that I would have a beta by now but oh well. I lightly edited this chapter myself (though there are still bound to be errors) and it goes by rather quickly but that's mostly because I wanted to get the beginning of this arc out of the way.**

Naruto's eyes widened as he stared at the Hokage. '_Th-the fourth, the fourth Hokage is my father!' _

"Why didn't you tell me before!" His tone was a furious one, one that promised suffering if the question wasn't answered.

"As I already told you Naruto; your parents made many enemies and you were horrible at keeping secrets as a child. If you had known you would have told everybody and then enemy villages would have sent shinobi to assassinate you."

"Still! That was when I was just a kid you could have told me years ago! I would have understood, I would have been quiet!"

"I'm sorry Naruto-Kun, I truly am but I stand by what I did. If I had known you could be trusted with this information I would have told you sooner. Jiraiya-Kun wanted to tell you himself when you turned nine but I told him not to."

Naruto took a glance at Jiraiya and then looked back at the sandaime. "I guess, you were just doing what you thought was best. Sorry, but I always thought my parents were nobody special and died in the kyuubi attack or had abandoned me. I never thought I would have a clan _and_ a famous dad. I mean, I have you jiji but, my actual father who provided the sperm for my creation."

Jiraiya nodded in understanding while Hiruzen tried to suppress a laugh. '_So he's already had the talk hmm? At least he won't have to be taught by his jounin sensei.'_

"Going back to the original reason that you're here though Naruto, I have accepted Jiraiya's request for the two of you to live in the Uzumaki estate. On the other hand, if you want to stay at the Namikaze estate I will have ANBU retrieve anything of sentimental or physical value from the Uzumaki estate and bring it there. However if you do choose to stay there you can't let anyone know."

"Naruto thought it over, he was tempted to just live at the Uzumaki estate. "Is the Namikaze estate in better condition?"

The old Hokage smiled. "Yes, much better. The Namikaze estate is also larger and where your parents lived." The last part is what got him.

"Then I would rather live there." Hiruzen smiled.

-Four Hours Later (3:00 PM)-

Naruto looked around his new home. By the time he and Jiraiya had arrived the ANBU had already moved everything into the building. The house was large as Hiruzen said it was, it had four floors with one of them being a basement (a rather large basement. eight feet tall, with measurements of 70ftx45ft) that was completely empty aside from a few targets and large boulders. It was obviously used as a inside training area for when conditions outside were uncomfortable.

The first floor contained two bedrooms, a bathroom, three closets, the den, a room that seemed to be used to store all his parents shinobi equipment besides scrolls (and it all still seemed to be there), the front and back doors as well as a staircase.

Going upstairs Naruto found two bedrooms, five closets, another bathroom, the dining room and kitchen, the living room, and more stairs. The only thing on the third floor was a large library (With all the books and scrolls still in place) and his father's personal study.

When Naruto opened the second largest bedroom door he could tell it was his parents. He decided to leave it as it was. Apparently they preferred the first floor. Inside the master bedroom however, he found a large bag on the bed.

On it was a note. It said

'_Dear Naruto-Kun,_

_In this bag are photos, a few scrolls and letters, your fathers old trench coat, and a few other things you might be interested in. I also took the liberty of placing my sensei's old scrolls about the mokuton in the library. They should help. I also opened a bank account and placed all of your parents money in it. The recognition card is attached to the back of this letter. When you go to the bank ask for the U-N account. I hope to see you at the festival tonight, if you decide to come I have a little surprise waiting for you._

_-Hiruzen'_

Naruto wondered what the old Hokage's little surprise was. '_Whatever it is I know it'll be awesome, all his surprises are.'_

He flipped the note over and grabbed the card attached to put it in his pocket along with the letter. He sat down on the bed and pulled the big bag with him up to the headboard. The blonde unzipped the bag and grabbed the first thing he could.

Unfolding it Naruto saw that it was the fourth's famous coat. He smiled at it and laid it next to the bag. The next thing he pulled out was a bunch of letters that seemed to be from his parents to each other. He set them on top of the coat.

Next were the photos. Most of them were of his parents either together or alone. A few of them showed Jiraiya with them but only a few. Those went on the nightstand. The rest of it was clothing for him (mostly civilian clothes but there was a few shinobi outfits).

After hanging the coat in the room's closet and putting the letters with the photos he put away the clothes in his dresser.

'_Wow. This whole place belongs to me now, well, me and jiji anyways.'_ With that thought Naruto realized he hadn't seen Jiraiya since they got to the house. After quickly searching the building he had yet to find the old sannin.

Not thinking much of it the blonde just went out back. The yard was very large (¾ the size of a football field). It was also completely closed off from the front of the house. There was a small stream, a few trees, large boulders, and a small hot spring that was walled off from the rest of the yard there. The whole thing happened to be under the Hokage monument as well.

Deciding that taking a dip in the hot spring wasn't a bad idea Naruto walked over to and inside the small building. After stripping his clothes and placing them on the shelf he walked into the spring.

"Ahhhhh. This is nice, I am definitely going to be coming in here often."

'_Actually this would be a good place to read some scrolls.'_ thinking that Naruto jumped out of the water and ran into the house to grab a scroll from the library.

Unfortunately for him there happened to be an ANBU in the room when he opened the back door. Also unfortunate for him it was a female ANBU. They stared at each other for a moment, and then her mask tilted down; and he screamed.

Needless to say she was gone in an instant. Not that she didn't enjoy the view but she wanted to spare his dignity. It also helped that she was herself embarrassed. Away from the estate she took of her mask. "That… was unexpected, but it just made me even more grateful for my photographic memory."

Naruto was in a completely different condition. At the moment he was on the ground frozen in horror. When the ANBU came back however, he got up and ran upstairs as fast as he could.

'_She came back!? Why the hell would she come ba-' _She was at the open entrance of his room. He screamed again and she quickly shut the door. His luck was never this bad! Why was this happening to him!? Was she doing it on purpose? He didn't know.

-Three Hours Later (7:00 PM)-

Naruto gave himself a once over in the mirror. He was wearing civilian clothes. A blue T-shirt, black shorts, tennis shoes, and a unzipped sweat jacket. It actually looked pretty good on him.

'_The festival always starts at 7:30 so the old man should be preparing for the starting speech. I have some time.'_ And because of that he decided to walk the whole way. Passing by the female ANBU in the den (Which he learned was there to watch him) he opened the door.

It took him about twenty minutes to get where the festival was started and by that time the Sandaime was finishing his speech. "-and so we hold this festival in honor of all those who died on the day of the kyuubi attack and the fourth Hokage who defeated the monster."

The crowed cheered and Sarutobi said it was time for celebrations to start. When he finished Naruto walked up to him. "Hey, so you told me you had a surprise, what is it?"

The sandaime chuckled. "Follow me and find out Naruto-Kun." Five minutes later and the pair were approaching one of the many tents around the village. Inside Naruto was surprised at the large amount of people there. "This is your birthday Naruto-Kun, you should be able to enjoy it."

"So this is why jiji wasn't around all day!"

"Indeed Naruto-Kun, Jiraiya was helping prepare for the party."

Looking around the blonde saw some of the village jounin, Ayame, Teuchi, Jiraiya, Izumo and Kotetsu, as well as a few more people that didn't hate him.

The rest of the night Naruto enjoyed cake, conversation, and many gifts.

Jiraiya had given him a scroll that contained many blank scroll, ink, and a book on beginner's fuuinjutsu.

One of the jounin who had red eyes gave him bandages she said would keep him from injuring his hands and legs to much during training.

Another jounin that had huge eyebrows gave him weights that could be adjusted via chakra which would work better than his current ones because of their small size.

The only other jounin in the room that got him something was a man with gravity defying _white _hair (no matter how much he insisted it was silver). From him he got a katana he doubted he would use.

Teuchi and Ayame had given him a four time use coupon for free all you could eat ramen, the latter had also given him a kiss on the cheek.

Apparently all the ANBU in the room had pitched in some money to get him armor that resembled theirs with the difference being in size.

The Hokage gave him a metal staff that's height was adjustable.

And finally, Izumo and Kotetsu got him a book a tactics.

All in all it was a pretty good turn out.

When the blonde got back to his new home the female ANBU was gone. Likely because Jiraiya was with him now so he didn't need someone to watch him.

"Hey kid I'm gonna go take a dip in the hot springs, you go to bed it's already past your bedtime." Naruto nodded in response, he wasn't going to complain; he was too tired for that.

So the toad sage went out the backdoor and towards the hot spring while Naruto walked upstairs to his room.

That night the blonde dreamt of becoming Hokage while his friends (Mostly people who were at the party) watched. The following morning when he entered the kitchen he found a plate of eggs, toast, and sausage. Immediately devouring the well prepared breakfast his attention turned to the note.

'_Naruto,_

_Sensei called me in for a mission so I'm sorry to say that you're going to be on your own for a while. I should be back sometime around the genin exams but Sensei promised he would take you if I'm not back in time. Be sure to eat something besides ramen and have some fun! Watch some girls in the springs or make some new friends but do something! See you soon,_

_Jiraiya.'_

'One month without anyone to watch after me or make me do chores; yes!' Naruto had grown to see Jiraiya as a father but he still appreciated having time to himself. Of course this meant that the ANBU woman that saw him naked _twice _yesterday would be around all the time, still.

Going over the note again he almost laughed, the man _wanted_ him to peep on women! He definitely had the best parent in the world. '_Don't think I'll try and make friends anytime soon though.' _Remembering all the children that lived in konoha from his past he decided to ignore that part of the his guardian's request.

That month was mostly spent training and reading up on some things in the library. Naruto also learned the basics of fuuinjutsu, mostly just sealing scrolls, exploding tags, durability seals, and a few other common seals. Plus, even though he thought that he wouldn't, the blonde did make a friend.

He had gotten bored of watching the purple haired ANBU watch him watch her so he started talking to her. At first she never responded but soon the two were the best of friends. She even told him her name; which was Akemi. Naruto also found out she was seventeen.

Over the course of the month he learned that she had a small crush on him (She didn't know he knew though) which kind of scared him, but he also kind of enjoyed it. Due to his being a jinchuuriki Naruto never had someone get a crush on him, well… there were some girls and even a few guys but he never noticed.

He also made a little headway in his bloodline limit. It had taken nearly the whole month because Ivy (The ivy vine wrapped around his waist) got jealous when he used his chakra on other plants and sometimes attacked him or did things to annoy him when he did. By the end of the month though, Naruto had managed to solve this problem and even managed to learn how to manipulate vegetation with his chakra, but he still couldn't do any wood jutsu.

Finally, when the day of the genin test came Naruto was surprised at his own eagerness. Jiraiya still wasn't back so the Hokage had come over to his estate and waited for him to finish getting dressed in the den. Once the blonde was finished he and the white haired man got on their way.

"So Naruto-Kun; have you made any friends over the past month?"

"Yeah actually. The ANBU lady that was assigned to watch me. She doesn't bother me when I don't want her to and she's nice. I know you want me to make friends my own age but they don't like me and besides, I'll be getting a team so they can fill that place."

Hiruzen smiled. "You make a good point Naruto-Kun although I still think you should try and reach out to others. And on the topic of your team I think you will quite enjoy this, because your skills are beyond that of an ordinary genin's you will get to go on more difficult solo missions with an ANBU that will only come in if he finds it necessary to do so."

"Really! Are you serious?! That's awesome! I get to do missions by myself! I have to be the luckiest person alive!" This made the sandaime chuckle.

"You do seem to have extraordinarily good things happen to you often. Maybe It's Kami's way of repaying you for the burden you must bare."

Naruto looked inspired when this was said and stopped to get on his knees and look up to the sky. "Thank you Kami! I will not abuse this power you have given me! Except winning a few games of poker but other than that I swear it won't be used wrong!"

'_Naruto always seems so happy and energetic, I hope he never changes that.' _

"Here we are! Just walk on inside and ask where classroom 193 is, when you get there the exams should have already started but I'm sure you can make up for your tardiness." The old man shunshined away before his words could register in his companion's head.

"Haha, I'm gonna be the bes- I'M LATE!?" Running inside as fast as he could Naruto asked the man at the front desk where room 193 was before sprinting off in the pointed direction. When he got there the written portion of the exam was being collected. "Sorry I'm late but Hokage-jiji brought me here so it's his fault!"

Everyone stared at him. Rubbing the back of his head the blonde gazed around the room. When he saw what looked like a teacher he asked "I can still pass the exam right?" Everyone facepalmed.

"I guess if you were to get a perfect score then it might be possible." replied Iruka.

Of course thanks to his training Naruto had no problem getting a perfect score in the target throwing test or ninjutsu test, he actually got extra points for doing the kage bunshin which put him right above Sasuke in the points needed to pass.

"Team One will be-" Naruto ignored the instructor as he started calling out the teams and laid his head on the desk.

Three hours later one of the jounin from his birthday party poked him in the face. "Hmmm? What's going on?" The _white_ haired man sighed.

"I'm your jounin sensei. I'm surprised that you're later than me, well, at least your mind was."

"What? Why didn't anyone wake me up?":

"Actually, your team mates did but apparently when they got close to you the vine around your waist attacked them."

"Oh, hehe. Sorry about that, Ivy is pretty protective."

"I see, well you shouldn't be saying sorry to me after all your teammates are right behind you."

Naruto turned and saw a pink haired girl covered with lashes unconscious on the floor. The boy sitting next to her was also covered in lashes.

"You know I would say sorry but why don't we just call this getting even huh Sasuke?"

The boy just snorted in response. "So you two already know each other; that's good!" Kakashi put in.

"We don't each other well so you probably shouldn't be so quick to think that; and just so you know, he's on my list."

"Well that's better than nothing I guess. Meet me on the roof in ten minutes for team introduction." Kakashi then disappeared in a poof of smoke.

"You can carry the banshee, I might drop her." Saying that Naruto walked out the window and up the side of the building.

Once up there he saw that his new sensei was already there. The two of them were waiting for fifteen minutes before Sasuke opened the roof door.

"Five minutes late, that's not good for first impressions." Naruto grinned at Kakashi's words considering the fact that the jounin had been late himself.

Sasuke glared. "I would have been up here in one if I wasn't being slowed down by this good for nothing girl." Naruto's grin widened at the insults to his worst bully. Sasuke was on the list but Sakura was on _**The **_list. "Sound like you didn't learn about the birds and the bees Sasuke. Why don't I tell you why girls aren't good for nothing?"If it was even possible Naruto's comment seemed to make the raven haired boy go more emo.

Kakashi just shook his head and used a small suiton jutsu to wake the pinkett. "Now that we are all on a team why don't we introduce ourselves? Start with your name then likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, and hobbies. You can go first pinky."

"Uhh sensei? Why don't you go first so we know how to do it."

"I thought it was rather simple, just say your name, likes, dislikes, dreams, and hobbies."

Sakura's cheeks turned pink and she shifted her body a little. "Oh, ok. Ummm, my name is Sakura Haruno and my likes are-" She giggled and looked at Sasuke, "my dislikes are Naruto and Ino-pig! my dreams for the future are-' again; she looked at Sasuke and giggled, "and my hobbies are-" once more looking at Sasuke and giggling.

"Okay, why don't you go next Naruto?"

Simultaneously Sasuke and Sakura thought '_He knows Naruto's name?'_

"Umm, You all know my name so I'll start with my likes. I like training, ramen, and my friend; well I'm not actually allowed to say her name because she's in ANBU but yeah."

This time Kakashi thought along with the other two '_He has a friend in ANBU?'_

"My dislikes are people that assume things about others and maniacs that kill people with chainsaws for no reason. My dreams for the future are to become Hokage and master my bloodline to make my; I don't actually know how he's related to me so I call him surrogate grandfather, the Shodaime proud."

Again everyone thought together '_He's related to the Shodaime!'_

"And my hobbies are training, reading, relaxing in the hot spring at my house, and trying to find someone that will write down everything I tell them to so that I can create my own technique scrolls."

"Baka you don't have a house you live in an old apartment!" Yelled Sakura.

"Actually bitch I live in the Uzumaki clan estate." This infuriated Sakura who tried to hit Naruto only for him to grab her fist twist it behind her back and push her forward in one smooth motion. The blonde sat back down while the pinkett glared at him "Your turn Emo-boy." The white haired man calmly watching said.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha and I don't have many likes or dislikes. I have no hobbies and my dream for the future is more of an ambition because I will make it happen. My ambition is to kill the man man that wiped out my clan."

Kakashi looked at all three of them in turn. "My first impression of this team is that there is a fangirl, egotistic emo, and someone who actually seems like shinobi material on it. Tomorrow I want all of you to meet me at training ground seven for your final test. Oh, and don't eat breakfast, you'll just throw it up." With those parting words the masked man disappeared in a cloud of smoke once again.

"He didn't even tell us his name." Said Sakura.

Sasuke was the first to stand and leave with Sakura following right behind him. '_I could have dealt with anyone but those two being on my team.' _Naruto dejectedly thought. He sighed and dispelled himself, no point in staying around.

The real Naruto groaned in his chair outside the Hokage's office. He had been waiting there while his clone was going through team introduction. '_I completely agree with you my minion.'_ The blonde stood and walked into the Sandaime's office.

"Ahhhh, hello Naruto-Kun. I was not expecting you; do you have a problem?"

"I would say yes but I doubt you'll do anything about it. So… no I don't have a problem. I just came here to ask you if I could put in an A-rank mission request."

"Why do you need to put in a mission request Naruto-Kun?"

"I want an assistant that will write down everything I tell them to so I can create some technique scrolls."

"Why is the mission A-rank?"

"Whoever takes the mission would have to know about me being a Namikaze." He replied simply.

"Mmmm. I think I know just the person. You! Put in the mission request and then make a clone to accept it and get the payment which would go to you." Naruto's eyes widened, he hadn't even thought of that!

Quickly making a clone who accepted the mission from the Hokage. Naruto (the real one) was about to leave before he remembered something. "Oh yeah I almost forgot. Where's training ground seven?"

"Training ground seven is outside the Northern gate to the left. As you may have guessed it's the seventh one in that direction."

"Thanks." Turning around to leave through the door he was surprise attacked by the wooden exit when it slammed into his face. When Naruto woke up he was being carried on a man's shoulder.

"So you're awake, good to see."

"Kakashi-Sensei?"

"Yo."

"Why are you carrying me?"

"I'm just bringing you back to the Namikaze estate."

"Oh, okay th-WHAT! How do you know about that!?"

"Minato was my sensei, he told me before anyone else when they found Kushina was pregnant with you."

"Oh. Well thanks for carrying me but could you set me down?"

"Sure." Pausing to let Naruto climb off his shoulder Kakashi then stretched slightly.

Turning so he could start walking Naruto realized that they were already at the Namikaze estate.

"Ummm, it would be polite to offer you an invitation to come inside wouldn't it?"

"That would be nice you."

"You planned this didn't you." It was more of a statement than anything else.

"You have no way to prove that." Kakashi eye smiled.

Once inside Naruto directed his sensei to the kitchen and got him some water. "So what do you want to talk about?"

"Why do you assume I only came here to tell you something?"

'What other reason could you have?"

"You're more observant than others give you credit for. I wanted to tell you that you're exempt from the final test. The Hokage said that because you will be doing solo missions only Sasuke and Sakura have to take the final test, however we both believe that you should still show up and pretend that you are taking the test."

"Why pretend if I'm exempt?"

"The test is about teamwork."

"Now it makes sense. You want me to pretend I'm taking the test so Sasuke and Sakura will avoid me to work together."

"Not exactly but you could say that."

"Why did it have to be them?" The blonde defeatedly said.

Later in the night Naruto was reading in his room while his ANBU guard took a bath. He said she looked bored and he knew she hadn't showered in days because she was spending all her time watching him. At first Akemi refused saying it was her duty to constantly watch over him. Then Naruto mentioned that she was starting to smell. Needless to say she immediately agreed to taking a bath if he stayed in his room as she did so.

Even if he had to stay in place Naruto was completely fine with it. Ivy was what he could only assume to be sleeping with one of her ends in a bowl of water. At first Naruto hated the plant and wanted to get it off no matter what the cost but he had grown attached to her.

They met when he and Jiraiya were going to Suna for the first time. When they were walking he tripped on a rock and fell into a large tangle of ivy vines. When Naruto managed to escape Ivy was clinging around his waist and refused to let go.

However much the blonde hated Ivy was forgotten when they reached the desert. Ivy was drying up and her hold on his waist weakened. The blonde had taken the opportunity and pulled the green vine off of himself.

He was just going to walk away but the blonde suddenly felt guilty and sorry for the plant. Knowing he would regret it Naruto had taken out his canteen and poured the water along Ivy. The plant was still to weak so he picked her up and stuck her under his shirt as to shield away the harsh sun.

After that Ivy completely obeyed his wants for her to get off of him at certain times because she knew he wouldn't leave her.

Turning off of memory lane Naruto returned his attention to the book in his hands. Chakra containment seals were extremely interesting. According to the book they stored chakra placed into them and then fed it to whatever was attached to it, the seal was basically a non-addictive chakra steroid.

Besides the handiness of the seal in emergencies it could also stay connected to the creator causing it to gain a puppet like application. Thinking about his kage bunshin Naruto got giddy. Running over to his desk the blonde pulled out a seal strip and an ink brush. Forming the seals on the paper Naruto then created a clone.

He placed one of his durability seals on the clone (Which allows them to take more hits and last longer) and then put a quarter of his chakra into the new seal. The string of chakra required constant input but he minimalised it as much as possible. When the chakra storage seal was placed on his clone Naruto felt something weird.

A small headache later and he was looking at two places. The real Naruto was looking at the bed but he also saw himself. He wasn't looking at the clone though. His second vision started moving towards him and stopped right to his left.

"Are you okay boss?" Then he realized, he was looking through his clones eyes and his own!

"Yeah, uh. Do you feel like you're looking in two places at once?"

"Actually, now that you mention it I do."

The real Naruto smirked. It seemed that the chakra string connecting him and the clone also allowed him to see through his eyes. "This is the most awesome thing that has ever happened. I think I just created a new jutsu."

The bunshin's eyes widened as it fumbled to grab a small note pad from it's pocket.

"Apparently when an active chakra storage seal is placed on a kage bunshin the effect allows the user to control the clone and see through it's eyes. Using this in battle would be most useful when in a protective circle that would allow the jusu caster to see in every direction." Finishing writing his words the clone set the pad down before Naruto dispelled him. '_Hokage-jiji is going to love this!'_

Thinking about now including tactics in his training the blonde remembered one of his birthday gifts. Running over to his closet and opening the door Naruto pulled out a small box. Inside there were five seals. Taking off his shirt and grabbing just one of the seals Naruto went to his mirror.

Turning and placing the gravity seal on the center of his back Naruto applied a small amount of chakra into it. He noticed the effects immediately. The seal Guy gave him were gravity manipulation seals. They were designed to be placed on the skin and dissolve turning them into tattoos.

Currently the amount of chakra placed into the seal was about one thirtieth the amount in Guy's. '_And that guy said he had them on his arms and legs too! Crazy bastard this is torture!'_ He spent some time getting used to the extra weight by walking around and doing some light exercises. The seals were also supposed to affect your chakra when you used it so that your reserves could expand while your muscles strengthened.

'_This is going to be hell but if I can get used to it these seals are gonna make me a lot stronger.'_

When morning came Naruto rolled out of bed (Literally) forgetting about the seals. Hearing a crack a something stabbing into his belly Naruto stood and looked down. He had splinters all over his stomach and the floor was broken.

'_OH SHIT! Mrs.-, oh, right. My place; no landlord.' _With a happy grin he walked out of the room and downstairs into the kitchen. "Wait, Kakashi-Sensei said not to eat breakfast. Whatever it's not like I'm going to actually be doing the test anyway." So he continued to make himself a bowl of ramen.

At training ground seven Naruto was the first to arrive. '_Perfect for setting traps.' _Creating ten clones and placing the durability and active chakra storage seals on the clones the blonde ordered them to hide around the clearing. Twenty minutes later Sasuke showed up. Five minutes after that Sakura joined them.

Naruto sat on top of a branch while his other two teammates sat next to each other against the tree. Well, Sasuke sat against the tree while Sakura leaned against him asking the raven haired boy for a date. The three spent two hours like this when Kakashi finally showed up.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura screamed.

"I was saving an old woman escape a burning building when a black cat crossed my path forcing me to come here the long way around."

"You came from the same entrance we did Sensei." Was Naruto's smart reply.

"I like that way best. Just because I had to go the long the way doesn't mean I had to come from another direction."

"Plus you could've just used kawarimi or gone around the cat."

"What can I say? I guess you thought it through more than I did Naruto."

"Whatever let's just start the test." And so they did.

After Sasuke and Sakura ran off to hide Kakashi looked at Naruto. "Surely you don't plan to fight me yourself?"

"Nope. Come on out boys!" Six Naruto clones jumped from the trees and formed a line in front of the real one.

Naruto on the very right of the line charged at Kakashi while the two very left Narutos ran to the jounin's left and behind. Naruto 1 (The one charging) jumped and threw three kunai at the man while Naruto 2 and 3 (The clones on his left and behind respectively) used fire jutsu which forced Kakashi to move to his right.

When he did so Naruto 1 went for a spiraling axe kick that was easily dodged. The jounin stabbed clone 1 expecting it to disperse only for it to take the kunai stab and grab for the bells. He succeeded but Kakashi grabbed his hand and kicked the clone hard enough for it's arm to be ripped off causing it to dipell.

Examining the clearing to try and find clones 3 and 2 Kakashi barely avoided being stabbed from behind by clone 2. Jumping up using clone 2's face as a launch board he used kawarimi on the clone directly in front of the real Naruto and punched forward only to be blocked and have the clone to his right grab for the bells.

Again using kawarimi Kakashi replaced himself with a log. '_How did he know where I was. and his clones also seemed to know where I was moving. It's like they're all seeing the from each others point of view.' _

"I'm sure you must have figured out by now sensei that my clones and I can tell where you're at all the time."

"I was just wondering about that actually. So how do you do it? I'm curious."

"The jutsu is rather simple but it requires so much chakra that I doubt you could hold it up for more than a few minutes. The clones have durability seals on them which require chakra to activate as well as active chakra storage seals. It allows my clones to move of their own free will as usual but also allows me to control them. One added effect is that when the seal on the clone is active me and my clones share what we see with each other."

"I agree with your statement that I couldn't keep the jutsu up for more than a few minutes because of the required chakra but how can you?"

Naruto smirked."If I read correctly the sharingan allows you to sense people's chakra and see how much they have. Use it on me."

The white haired young man was surprised that Naruto knew about his sharingan. Nonetheless he did what Naruto said and almost had a heart attack as he did so. The blonde's chakra reserve was immense! It was so large he couldn't even sense all of it!

"How! This shouldn't be possible you're just a genin!"

"True I am young but my chakra surpasses that of the Hokage's. In this village I have more chakra than anyone and even when I don't train my reserves are constantly growing because of my… tenant. My control is crap though so the only jutsu I can use are D rank or higher and I still can't do some of those."

"Does anyone else know?"

Talking from behind Kakashi Naruto said "Yes."

Shunshining away Kakashi made two of his own clones. clone 1 went to attack the clones on Naruto's right while clone 2 went for the clones on Naruto's left. Kakashi went for Naruto himself.

Five minutes later there were two Kakashis and one unconscious Naruto in the clearing.

"That was challenging but I'm still a jounin." Walking away Kakashi set out to find the remaining two genin. During the fight Sasuke found Sakura and told her the only way they could beat Kakashi was if they worked together. Agreeing Sakura followed Sasuke to the stream.

"You go hide in that bush and use a genjutsu on sensei when he gets here, make it seem like he beat me with the first move."

Nodding the pinkett did as she was told. When Kakashi found Sasuke standing by the river he smirked. Going through a few hand signs the jounin sank into the ground. When he grabbed Sasuke's leg and pulled him down Kakashi revealed himself above ground.

"Sometimes it's too easy." He sighed. Then he felt something grab the bells. '_Damn it!' _"**Kai!" **Out of the jutsu he met the sight of Sasuke and Sakura holding the bells.

"Sometimes it's just too easy." They said.

Kakashi smiled. "Good work, you both pass."

"Yes! Now I get to be on a team with Sasuke without Naruto!" Sakura cheered.

"Actually Naruto passes as well. This test was made to test if you could use teamwork to defeat an enemy stronger than yourself. Naruto worked with his clones to fight me which showed he already knows how to work on a squad. Naruto was also exempt from this test since it began and had no reason to fight me besides to show you two how strong I was."

"So, we still have to have Naruto on our team?"

"Yes Sakura, yes you do. Don't be that upset though, the Hokage made Naruto exempt from this test because he will be taking B ranked solo missions from time to time."

"What! Why does the dobe get to do missions by himself?" Sasuke angrily yelled.

"Think about it. During our fight I had a difficult time taking Naruto down even after he told me about his tactical advantage with the clones. He didn't use any jutsu besides his clone jutsu and a fire jutsu when he does have more. Besides that I have the word of his other sensei that Naruto is much better in battle when it's the real thing."

Sasuke just scoffed and looked away. '_I hope Sasuke will learn to except being number two.'_ Kakashi thought.

Later that day inside the Hokages office there were three jounin standing in front of the desk.

"I, Kurenai, jounin of Konohagakure, pass my team for their ability to work together and fight as a unit."

"I, Asuma, jounin of Konohagakure, pass my team for their ability to work together and fight as a unit."

"They pass." Everyone turned to Kakashi. "You're actually passing a team! Why?" Asked Asuma.

"For their ability to work together and fight as a unit." Was the response.

The Hokage coughed slightly to bring attention back to him. "Then you three are to report to the mission assignment department tomorrow with your genin. Dismissed."

-With Naruto-

"Hey kid, finally decide to return to the land of the living?" Naruto knew that voice.

"Jiji! When'd you get back!?"

"Just this morning I gave the mission report to sensei I was going to see if you passed the bell test but you were out cold. What happened?"

"Kakashi used his dog summons to smother me. When I broke free he ninja slapped me in the neck." (A ninja slap is my term for a karate chop)

"Ooo. That had to hurt. But did you pass?"

"Well I was exempt from the start but I don't think my teammates did."

"Why not?"

"One of them is the others fangirl."

"Ahh, that makes sense."

That night was spent with Naruto telling Jiraiya about everything he had done while the old man was away and Jiraiya telling Naruto the things he did on his mission. "You actually convinced them to let you pay after the sex?"

"Yeah, and thanks to an hour of fun the girl was asleep as soon as I finished. Nobody even saw me sneak out."

"That's kind of disgusting."

"Not really. She said the only reason she worked at the brothel was because she found the work fun. It's not like she really needed the money."

"Still. -yawn- I'm getting tired, see you in the morning."

"Okay, goodnight."

"Goodnight."

"I hate D ranks!" Naruto yelled as he once again slipped on pig shit. "They aren't even missions they're chores!"

"Now now Naruto, most D rank missions come from the elderly who aren't capable of doing these things themselves. If you want to become Hokage someday you must understand this. These missions also provide an easy way to increase revenue."

"That doesn't mean I have to like them." The blonde grumbled.

"Just think of it as training. These missions will prepare you physically for the real world."

Naruto just grumbled some more and kept shoveling mud. He understood the point of the missions he just didn't understand why he couldn't use kage bunshin. When he asked Kakashi only said "Then Sasuke and Sakura wouldn't get to enjoy the mission."

Of course Sasuke and Sakura weren't shoveling mud. They were trying to keep the pigs in one place outside of the pen until Naruto finished his part of the job. "At least we get paid."

"Actually genin don't get paid for missions below C rank. The pay is so low that it all goes to their jounin sensei, well, all of it except the small percentage taken by the Hokage for the village."

"What! So we don't even get paid! Why Kami-Sama, WHY!? I thought you had blessed me with luck!" And as if by magic 10,000 ryu landed in front of Naruto. Looking up the blonde said meekly "Thank you."

That was how the entire morning went by. Then in the afternoon Kakashi brought them to training ground seven for teamwork exercises. All of which Naruto succeeded at while the other two genin failed. Kakashi had managed to get Sakura to actually apply herself and Sasuke to try and make an effort to work with the other two.

Eventually the team would be in working condition. '_Maybe they just need a little push though.'_ So the jounin resolved to request a C rank mission for the team. The first time they had been refused, and the second third fourth and fifth times as well.

The sixth time they asked Hiruzen said "I'll give Naruto a B rank mission right now. While he's out on his mission you can get the rest of the team ready for a C rank. When Naruto gets back you can get a C rank."

Kakashi nodded and Naruto was given a mission to take down a large bandit camp near the hidden valley. When he left with the Hare masked ANBU his sensei was with Sasuke and Sakura.

"We have two weeks to get you guys ready for a C rank mission so listen up! Team work will be essential on this mission but we're not going to work on that. Take these weights." Kakashi pulled out four ankle and wrist weights.

"You will wear these all day and all night. Only take them off when you shower. Next I'm going to show you a chakra control exercise. Walking up a tree using only your feet."

-Ten Minutes Later-

"Now start practicing."

"Uhh, sensei? Could we take the weights off while we do this?"

"No Sakura that would defeat the whole purpose of wearing them."

So the two genin got to work. Sasuke was having trouble getting the right amount of chakra to stick to the tree and Sakura was constantly falling because of the twenty pound weights.

"Kakashi-Sensei this is ridiculous! These weights are making things impossible!"

"You know Sasuke those weights are only half as heavy as the ones Naruto is using. Actually, they're less because Naruto has increased the weight of of his since the bell test."

This got Sasuke to shut up and start working harder than before. '_Seems like Naruto is the way to get Sasuke motivated. Now what about Sakura?' _Kakashi thought while watching his students. '_She seems to be trying to get Sasuke's attention, hmmm.' _

Getting an idea the jounin walked over to Sakura. "Sakura. I've noticed you trying to get Sasuke's attention. I need to tell you something related to that. Are you aware that relationship between teammates is strictly forbidden in genin teams unless it has been approved by the jounin sensei?"

Sakura looked mortified. "You- you mean I can't go out with Sasuke?"

"Only if I think the relationship won't harm the team as a whole. If you neglect your training because you're too busy trying to get Sasuke's attention I won't approve. Besides that Sasuke wouldn't go out with you at the moment anyway. He wants to revive his clan which means he wants to marry a strong kunoichi."

"So! I am a strong kunoichi!" Sakura responded.

"No Sakura, you aren't. Naruto was just sent on a mission to completely eradicate a bandit camp by himself. That means he will have to kill them. At the moment I think you would lose fighting one bandit. So start taking things seriously."

Kakashi walked away to leave Sakura to think about it. A small while later she started trying to get up the tree again but completely ignored Sasuke.

At the end of the two weeks Kakashi wouldn't have put either of his students up against an entire bandit camp like Naruto but they were stronger. Their outfits had changed as well. Sasuke still wore his Uchiha shirt but exchanged the cargo shorts for grey cargo pants. He also took to wearing leather gloves that covered his entire hands.

Sasuke's change had been slight, but Sakura had changed a lot. She dyed her hair a light brown because the pink drew too much attention and also got it cut short. Instead of her red dress she now wore a long sleeved dark green shirt with a grey hood on it (She wasn't using it though), black shinobi pants, the same gloves Naruto wears, one earring with a chakra storage seal on it, and brown boots.

When she showed up a week after Naruto had left looking like that Kakashi and Sasuke had stared at her all day. When she asked them why they were staring and they replied that she looked different she said "I just did what sensei said and started taking being a kunoichi seriously."

The three were waiting at the East gate for Naruto to get back. When they saw him approaching their eyes widened. His blonde hair was longer, so long it looked just like his father's. He had also grown a lot taller, he was at least an inch above Sasuke.

He now wore the same earring as Sakura on his right ear. His pants were black shinobi jeans with small tears on them that likely weren't a fashion statement, his shirt a simple black T with the Konoha village symbol on the back (they couldn't see this though). His cloak was the same except that Ivy was now so much longer she wrapped around the arms and back of it in a spiral around his body.

His headband now had black cloth and had the Senju clan symbol on it instead of Konoha's. It was on his left shoulder. He had small streams of dried blood on him that actually looked pretty cool but the thing that stood out the most was an ANBU mask that was on the back of his head as if he had two faces.

"Naruto! Where's Hare?" When the blonde got a few feet away from his team he stopped. "Dead." His voice was low and held no emotion. "I planned to attack them while they slept so I took watch while Hare slept. I didn't realize they knew we were there and they jumped us. He was dead before I took out the first guy and by the time the bandits were dead it was too late for him."

"I-I used… my other chakra and slaughtered them all. I was ripping them limb from limb with my bare hands, I didn't know what I had done until it was over with. I tried to get all the blood off but some of it's still on my cloak. I burned Hare's body so no information could be stolen from it. I kept his mask though."

"You did good Naruto. That was smart of you to burn the body, and taking his mask will prove it was him." Sometime during Naruto's words Kakashi had gone over to the boy and started comforting him.

"I want to keep it, the mask. I want to remember him."

"You can keep the mask Naruto."

Sasuke and Sakura shifted in place a little feeling uncomfortable. "You two get over to the Hokage tower and wait there. They both nodded.

It only took Naruto a few to turn into his old self. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. I've seen people get killed before and I've killed before, I can deal with this."

"Okay. Now why don't we head off to the Hokage tower while you tell me what happened to Ivy?"

"Oh, well I don't really know what happened. I think when I used the kyuubi's chakra my mokuton awakened more to suppress the influence it had on me. Now I can do some small mokuton jutsu but I haven't read any of the Shodaime's scrolls so the only jutsu I know are the wood clone and the four pillar house technique."

"That will come in handy whenever we end up camping. Have you actually used the techniques yet?"

"I did the clones on accident when I was on my way back and I created a house to stay in for the night on my way back as well."

"Maybe you should take the first's scroll with us on the mission."

"I will."

After Naruto gave his mission report and went by his house to clean his cloak and get some supplies he joined his team in the mission assignment room.

"Team seven is being given the C rank mission of protecting the bridge that connects fire and water country. The client is waiting for you outside of this room."

When the team exited the mission assignment room there was an old man outside. "So these kids are the ones that are supposed to be protecting my bridge? They look pathetic.'

Before Kakashi could say anything Naruto spoke. "I could kill you in under a second without moving an inch." With a small wave of killer intent Tazuna trembled slightly. "I remember you. Naruto? Wow you've grown a lot from when I last saw you."

"Yeah, well, I was only four then so…"

Kakashi took this as his place to step in. "Getting back to the point, yes Tazuna-San my genin team are the ones that will be protecting the bridge. This is only a C rank mission so we shouldn't expect anything worse than bandits correct?"

"Hmmm, oh yes. The only expected threat is bandits. Gato has recently set his sights on wave country but the bridge is making his takeover near impossible."

Kakashi nodded and turned to his team. "Meet me and Tazuna at the west gate in thirty minutes. Dismissed."

The three children all went in different directions to get things for the mission. Sasuke went towards the Uchiha compound, Sakura went to the civilian housing area of the village, and Naruto went straight to the gate already having essential supplies in a sealing scroll.

Forty minutes later and team seven was on their way. Some time down the road there was a puddle in the dirt. '_It hasn't rained here in weeks and there are no bodies of water nearby. Naruto and Sasuke haven't noticed anything but Sakura looks a little confused. Good thing I taught her some genjutsu. __**Kai!' **_The demon brothers stood waiting for the genin team to get close enogh.

"Now!" The brothers dispersed the genjutsu running at Tazuna. When they realized Kakashi was in their way they killed him. Two seconds later they were trapped in vines and other plants that seemed to grow from right beneath them.

"Good work Naruto, trapping an unknown enemy instead of killing them is how we get information. Sasuke was on standby ready to attack at any moment and not only did Sakura spot the genjutsu she got in position to protect the client when the demon brothers released it."

Sakura blushed at the praise while Sasuke humphed because he didn't do anything. Naruto turned to Tazuna. "Tazuna these ninja were clearly after you. This mission shouldn't have had any risk of enemy ninja."

The old drunk looked scared. "You're not going to end the mission are you? My village could pay for a higher mission rank but we honestly didn't know. We thought Gato would send in bandits at the worst."

Kakashi considered his words. "I don't like that my genin were placed in danger because of your mistake but if they decide to continue I will talk with your village heads when we get there about changing the mission pay. So guys, what do'ya think?"

Sasuke and Naruto immediately said to continue on with the mission. Sakura looked hesitant but agreed. "Then it seems we continue on." Kakashi made a clone and ordered to take the demon brothers back to Konoha.

"Hey Naruto? How did you know those were the demon brothers?" Sakura asked.

Naruto reached into his pocket and pulled out a small book. "Bingo book. Normally only chunin or higher class shinobi are allowed to have them but I got this one from jiji before my mission."

"Couldn't you get in trouble for having that then?" This time, much to Naruto's surprise it was Sasuke that spoke.

"Yes but nothing would happen to me because now that I have my headband I am legally considered an adult. I can do anything anyone else can now and so can you. If we wanted to we could spend a night at the brothel in Tazuna's village. Plus; this was a gift from a shinobi higher in rank than chunin."

Sasuke blushed. "You could, but not right now. This is a mission;visit the brothels on your own time." The jounin in the group said.

When they reached a boat the next day Tazuna looked confused. "A friend of mine was supposed to meet us here with his boat. This is the boat but I don't see him anywhere."

"We should wait here for a few minutes and if your friend doesn't return by then we go on without him."

Tazuna nodded at Kakashi. Ten minutes showed no sign of Tazuna's friend. "He must have had someone bring him back." Tazuna said not wanting to think about what else could have happened. The five of them all piled into the boat and pushed off.

The next day when they were walking down a path Naruto threw a kunai at a bush. On the other side was a dead white rabbit. As Sakura started yelling at him Kakashi thought'_That's a snow hare, it's coat should be brown right now. This guy was raised inside as a pet.' _

Hearing a swish in the air Kakashi yelled at everyone to duck.

The only person that didn't was Naruto who was out of the swords range.

"My what an obedient little team you have there Kakashi. Except the blonde, he doesn't seem to know what orders are. Why don't I show him? Lets start with a simple one, be afraid!" Zabuza sent a wave of killer intent at them. Naruto laughed. "Please! You think that will work on me? Try stabbing my face; that _might _do the trick!"

"Impressive, you taught them well Hatake." The sword wielder grinned maliciously.

"Why are you here Zabuza!"  
"You know why. I was hired to kill the man behind you and destroy his bridge."

Zabuza would have jumped onto the ground but when he tried he fell over and dropped his sword. At his ankles the branch grew out and wrapped around him. When he did drop the word a Naruto clone ran over and grabbed it before Zabuza escaped.

"The element of surprise is a shinobi's best tool." Naruto cooley stated. Putting some chakra into his weights the blonde now had nothing restricting him. Lifting the sword up he said "Good thing jiji taught me some kenjutsu."

'_Damn that brat! Without my sword it will be a lot harder to fight Kakashi, I have to get it back!'_

The branches were no longer holding Zabuza in place so he made two water clones. They would fight Kakashi while he tried for the sword. When he got close to the blonde he suddenly had to jump out of the path of three shuriken.

'_I almost forgot about those other two.' _Making another clone to take care of Sasuke and Sakura the real Zabuza once again went after his sword. Naruto got into a stance in preparation. When the eyebrowless man was five feet away he swung only for Zabuza to jump onto the swords surface and kick him in the chest with enough force to send the blonde flying and take the sword from his hands.

"Don't forget who your opponent is." Zabuza jumped away from the sound of Kakashi's voice that was suddenly behind him. "I haven't but fighting you without my sword would be a pain in the ass." And the fighting continued.

Sasuke and Sakura were on Tazuna's sides ready to protect him at any moment. The two were worried about their sensei as he battled. "Hey Sasuke? Do you think Kakashi-Sensei can beat this guy?"

"I don't know. If he had help then Zabuza would already be dead but as it is we have to protect Tazuna. Besides that Naruto's injured so the situation isn't good."

"You know just cause I got injured that doesn't mean I can't fight. Sasuke you go help Kakashi-Sensei; I'll stay here with Sakura." Sasuke and Sakura turned to see Naruto come into sight through the thick mist. Nodding his head Sasuke went off in the direction the fighting was in.

Minutes later Zabuza lay on the ground seemingly dead. Before any of them could check however, a Kiri hunter-nin jumped down from a tree. "I apologize for not intervening sooner but if I had the target might have been completely destroyed by one of your attacks."

Kakashi was the first to respond. "It's fine, no harm done. I suppose you need us to leave now so you can dispose of the body?"

"Actually I will take the body with me." With those last words the hunter-nin grabbed Zabuza and went off.

**Again sorry about any errors and the wait time but I hope you enjoyed. Reviews are always appreciated (Unless they're flames). Also, is it just me or are the number of Naruto fanfictions being created and updated going **_**way**_ **down?**


	5. Chapter 5

**I am sorry to say that I have lost interest in this fic and Naruto altogether and I don't feel connected to the story so I can't really right it well anymore and everything feels forced. I hate to say it but as I have lost interest this story has been abandoned though if someone else would like to take this fic and continue it then go ahead. **


	6. Chapter 6

**This story has been adopted by AnimeAnomaly72.**


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